Baby Steps
by PrincessBellePrinceAdam
Summary: Emma is determined to get closer to Troy. Story is now complete.
1. Lunch

_A/N 1: It has been a ridiculously long time since I've been involved in the Power Rangers fandom. Megaforce has officially brought me back. I absolutely love Troy and Emma; the few scenes they've had together show a lot of chemistry, IMO. _

_This will be a series of chronological one-shots about how they become closer as friends and teammates. It will feature a lot of my own head canons, such as Troy's little sister. I just think he'd be a good big brother. Because Megaforce is still airing, this may or may not be compliant with the show's canon, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. Unfortunately, this is probably going to be updated pretty sporadically because I'm working on other things right now, but hang in there. :)_

**Baby Steps**

Emma Goodall had a plan.

She was excited about this plan. As soon as the bell that signaled lunch rang, the Pink Ranger was out of her seat and walking briskly into the hallway. Emma's brown eyes scanned the hall for the person she was looking for and she smiled slightly as she caught sight of him.

The Pink Ranger staggered her pace so that Troy wouldn't think she was following him. Which, okay, she was, but he didn't need to know that. And Emma knew there was a good reason for her actions, so she didn't feel too weird about them.

Even though Troy Burrows had been both her classmate and teammate for several weeks now, Emma hardly knew anything about the Red Ranger. He was just so _distant_ outside of battle. To tell the truth, it was starting to bug Emma a little bit. And the brunette girl definitely intended to fix this.

It wasn't easy, though. None of their other teammates seemed to be particularly bothered by Troy's lack of efforts towards being friends. Jake and Noah had each other, of course, and neither male Ranger seemed to want to change this. Gia Moran, Emma's best friend, was constantly telling her that she should just stop bothering with Troy. Clearly, the Yellow Ranger said, if he wanted to be friends, he would meet them halfway. It was also well known to Emma that Gia liked her privacy and therefore would be the first to defend someone else's right to it.

But today, Gia would be spending her lunch period tutoring a boy from her calculus class. This left Emma free to follow Troy without being nagged at by her friend to leave him alone.

The Red Ranger had stopped by a tree to one side of the quad. As she was learning was typically for the boy, he had chosen an area that was nearly uninhabited. The autumn weather was still pleasantly warm, but most of Harwood County High's students preferred to eat in the cafeteria. This made the quad quiet and peaceful. Emma could see why the lone wolf on their team would want to spend his time here.

"Hey," Emma greeted as she approached the boy. "Do you mind if I eat with you?"

She could see the surprise in Troy's green eyes as he looked up at her. "No," he said finally.

The Pink Ranger focused on staying calm as she folded herself onto the grass next to her Red counterpart. Maybe this would easier than Emma had thought; she had expected to have to talk him into agreeing.

As Emma reached into her backpack for her lunch, she could feel Troy staring at her. "Is something wrong?" the brunette girl asked, her brow furrowed.

He shook his head. "Not really," the Red Ranger replied. "I'm just wondering why you want to eat with me all of a sudden. Don't you usually spend your lunch break with Gia and the others?"

So he _was_ paying attention to her, at least a little bit. Emma nodded in response and said, "Gia is tutoring today. I heard Jake say he had to do a detention for Mr. Burley, and Noah is busy with his Science Club. I saw you coming out here and thought it might be nice if we were alone together."

Emma inwardly winced. That had not come out right at all. Troy was still staring at her. The Pink Phoenix felt herself blush under his scrutiny. She was considering apologizing and getting up to walk away when he spoke again. "So I was your last resort."

"Of course not," Emma said in a rush. "That's not what I meant at all. I'm so sorry if that's what it sounded like."

But Troy was smiling at her. "I was kidding, Emma," the Red Ranger assured her.

She smiled back, relieved. Then she said, "So you're capable of having a sense of humor." Emma was careful to say this in what she hoped was a thoughtful sort of tone. The Pink Ranger was optimistic that maybe if Troy knew she wanted to know more about him, he might just tell her everything she wanted to know. It was a long shot, maybe, but still one worth taking.

Troy arched an eyebrow at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" he questioned.

Emma was worried that she had offended him. But she still stood her ground. "You're so distant. It's frustrating," the Phoenix admitted. "So whenever I see something new with you I try to take note of it." She winced for real this time as she realized how this sounded. "And now you probably think I'm crazy."

"Not crazy," Troy said decidedly. "Just passionate. Though why you've picked me to be passionate about, I'm not sure."

Emma was pleased to hear that it seemed like he was teasing her again. "I'm a sucker for a good mystery," she told him. Troy looked a little bit wary at this statement. The Pink Ranger quickly backtracked. "Don't worry," she added. "I'm not going to grill you or anything. I prefer to put things together for myself. And I have a feeling you wouldn't respond well to being questioned, anyway."

"I wouldn't," he assured her. Then the Dragon Ranger reached into his own backpack. He came up with an apple and his copy of _Hamlet_, which they were reading for their English class. He probably had the right idea, Emma thought. She reluctantly fetched her own copy of the play from her bag.

The rest of the lunch period passed rather pleasantly. Emma ate her sandwich and granola bar while she brushed up on Act III and took note of the little details. Their English teacher was notorious for asking very hard questioned on her pop quizzes.

The Pink Ranger was also guilty of sneaking more than a few glances at her Dragon counterpart. He was so focused and serious and she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't find that a little attractive, even if it also frustrated her to no end. But there would be time for that later, Emma told herself, after they knew each other better.

The lunch period was nearly over when she heard an electronic chiming. Emma glanced over at Troy to see him sliding a red phone out of his pocket. He tapped the screen and let out a small groan upon reading the message. "My mom," the Red Ranger explained, having guessed that she was about to ask. "I have to get my sister from the bus stop after school."

But Emma just smiled at this new piece of information as she turned it over in her mind. "Another piece of the puzzle. You have a sister."

Troy got to his feet and slung his bag over his shoulder. "I have a sister," he confirmed. He offered her his hand and Emma took it without hesitation. Troy hauled the Pink Phoenix to her feet easily. Together, both Rangers headed back towards the school's English wing.

They were nearly to the door of Mrs. Nolan's classroom when Troy placed a hand on Emma's arm, stopping her in her tracks. She looked up at him curiously. "I…um…" he stammered. There was a hint of nervousness in the boy's tone. Emma tilted her head to the side, now even more curious as to what Troy was trying to tell her.

"I eat lunch at the same spot every day," he said finally. "You know, if you, uh, find yourself alone again or something."

The Pink Ranger beamed. He was inviting her back, which was a definite step in the right direction as far as Emma was concerned. "I'll keep that in mind," she said with as much nonchalance as she could muster, though she was certain that Troy could see right through her.

With that said, Emma joined the group of students filing into the classroom. As she settled in at her desk, she could tell someone was staring at her. She glanced to her right, only to lock gazes with Troy.

He was smiling.

_A/N 2: So, hopelessly cheesy, right? Well, Power Rangers is supposed to be cheesy. :)_


	2. Nature Walk

**Baby Steps**

Troy wasn't exactly surprised when Emma showed up at his lunch spot again the next day. She came back day after day, joined by varying combinations of their fellow Rangers, until it was an everyday occurrence.

The Red Ranger didn't quite know what to make of this. Other people had tried befriending him before but had given up much more easily than Emma. He was just too much of a loner for some people to handle, he supposed. But the Pink Phoenix was apparently determined to find a place for herself in his life and Troy was slowly learning to accept that.

Today she had beaten him to their spot. She was alone. If he was completely honest, he kind of preferred the lunch periods where it was just the two of them.

The others were cool in their own ways, but sometimes all three of them were a little hard to handle. Jake tended to spend all of his time and energy trying to get a date with Gia and consequently the Yellow Ranger spend most of _her_ time turning him down. On the days that Noah turned up, most of the lunch period would involve a spirited debate between the Blue and Pink Rangers over technology versus nature. After awhile, it got tiring to listen to.

But on the days it was just the two of them, Troy found himself enjoying the Phoenix's company. True to her word, Emma did not grill him. There were no questions about his past or why he had come to Harwood County or anything. It wasn't as if these things wouldn't eventually come out, but he wanted to tell her on his own terms. And Emma seemed to know and respect that.

The Pink Ranger smiled at him as he sat down beside her. She offered him her bag of chips and he took a few, noticing that her smile was a little brighter. It was so easy to make Emma happy sometimes, the Dragon thought. There was something do refreshing about that. To Troy, it seemed like Emma always knew exactly what she wanted and he had to admire that.

Another quiet lunch slipped away. Both Rangers started on their biology homework, which was another advantage of hanging out with Emma. Not only did she know a lot about biology already, but she was content to be quiet so that work could actually get done. Whenever their other teammates ate lunch with them, there was no point in attempting to do schoolwork; it was just too noisy.

Towards the end of the lunch break, Emma shut her textbook and moved just outside of the shady area the tree created. The Pink Phoenix leaned back on her palms and closed her eyes. She was clearly trying to soak up whatever was left of the late autumn sunlight while she could.

Then Troy felt his Pink companion's gaze settle on him. He looked up and she smiled again, a little hopefully. "So I was thinking," Emma began. Troy instantly put his guards up. Hearing those words, especially from a girl, was almost never a good sign. He hoped she hadn't changed her mind and decided to start playing 20 Questions with him. As much as he liked Emma, he just wasn't ready to talk about himself yet.

"You were thinking what?" Troy prompted.

She bit her lip nervously. His first thought was that she looked very cute with that expression on her face, but the Red Ranger quickly pushed that aside. "I was wondering if you might want to go on a nature walk with me after school."

That had not been what Troy was expecting to hear. He must have been looking at her blankly, because Emma quickly started talking again. "I just thought maybe you'd want to see some of the things I like about the woods. There's more to them than that training area, you know." She said the last part with a smile.

Truth be told, he had been planning to go train at their makeshift facility anyway. He didn't see the harm in walking through the forest with Emma and allowing her to show him a few flowers.

He ignored the fact that if he said yes, Emma would be sure to smile again. He really liked her smile.

"I was going to the woods anyway, but I wouldn't mind some company," Troy replied. Sure enough, the Pink Ranger beamed at him. Emma's grin was infectious, and the Dragon found himself smiling back at the brunette.

They made arrangements to meet at Emma's locker after their last class let out. It was easy to see that his Phoenix counterpart was excited about their plans. Her enthusiasm was kind of contagious.

0o0o0o0

Troy walked out of his pre-calculus class with a sense of great relief. He hated math of all sorts and having it as his last class of the day seemed like a special kind of torture. And today he was even more distracted than usual by the thought of spending time with Emma outside of school and Ranger duties.

He knew that it was best not to complicate his life any further. Emma was his teammate and that should have been the end of it. But Troy couldn't deny that he definitely had an attraction to the Pink Ranger. From what he had seen, Emma possessed a lot of admirable qualities. And that smile…

If there was one thing he was good at, it was disciplining himself. It was instilled in him from years of martial arts training. Troy knew that if the world was depending on him and the others to save it, he had to put more-than-friendly thoughts about the Phoenix aside.

It was really hard to do that, however, when she kept insisting on spending time with him.

Emma was waiting for him by her locker as planned. Her pink bike helmet was tucked under one arm and her camera was already out. She waved at him as she caught sight of him amid the throng of students.

"Ready to go?" she asked. "I just have to get my bike from the rack." He nodded and Emma set off with the Red Dragon following at her heels.

As she wove through the crowd, Troy spotted Noah and Jake. He saw Jake nudge the other boy when he realized the two Sky Rangers were heading off together. Noah rolled his eyes, but Troy could have sworn that he saw Jake wink at him.

Emma unlocked her bike from the rack and then hung her helmet from one of the handlebars. She hung the camera around her neck with the strap and then put the bike between them, pushing it as they went.

The closer they got to the woods, the chattier she became. Troy learned that Emma had been born and raised in Harwood County and that she was an only child. She had been into BMX since she was seven and photography since she was twelve.

"And how long have you wanted to protect the environment?" Troy found himself asking.

"It was kind of instilled in me at birth," Emma answered with a grin. "My parents are into the environment as well. I've never known anything different."

She looked at him hopefully then, as if she thought he might offer up something about his own home life in return. Troy knew it was only fair, really. And he trusted Emma; he really did. He could take a leap of faith and show her that, right? Telling her something small couldn't hurt.

"I'm from Angel Grove originally. Then we spent a few years in Mariner Bay. Now we're here."

Emma nodded and then asked, "Who's we?"

"Me, my mom, my sister, and my stepdad."

Apparently, this was enough for the Pink Ranger. She didn't say anything else about his revelations. Instead, Emma pointed out a butterfly and then a rare type of flower. Then she put the kickstand on her bike down and started snapping pictures with her camera.

As she did this, Troy found himself admiring Emma's passion yet again. And he really liked that she was sharing these things she so obviously loved with him.

The Red and Pink Rangers continued through the forest. Emma had stopped to examine another flower when Troy heard her gasp softly. She waved him over to her and then pressed a finger to her lips. He went to her side as quietly as possible and then gave her a quizzical look. Emma gestured to a cluster of bushes just off the path.

The Red Ranger looked to the spot she was pointing at. He could see what she was so excited about now. Half concealed in the bushes was a doe and two young deer. "They're fawns," Emma whispered excitedly.

"How can you tell?" he whispered back.

"They still have spots," the Phoenix replied. Emma raised her camera to her face and took a picture. She let out a quiet sigh. The content look on her features said it all.

Both Sky Rangers continued to stand still until the animals wandered away. Emma was still grinning from ear to ear. "That was pretty cool," Troy admitted. He was definitely glad he had agreed to this. Not necessarily because of the deer, but because of the way Emma looked. He wondered idly if she knew how pretty she was and then decided that that probably wasn't the kind of thing Emma concerned herself with.

Emma continued to lead the way through the forest. She wasn't talking as much now. If he had to guess, he would say that she was probably eager to get back to town and develop the pictures.

The more Troy thought about this, the more he realized he wasn't quite ready to part ways with his Pink counterpart yet.

The pair of Rangers had arrived at their training area. Troy set his backpack down and shrugged off his jacket.

Emma hovered by the fringe of trees at the edge of the clearing. She had snapped her helmet on but had yet to actually leave. Troy wondered if she was hesitating because she didn't want to leave him yet, either.

Finally, the brunette girl spoke up. "I guess I should get going," she said. "I want to print the pictures before the photo store closes. I'll see you tomorrow, Troy. Have a good night."

The Pink Ranger carefully stowed her camera in her bag. She mounted her bike and was just starting to ride away when he opened his mouth. Before he even really knew what he was saying, he called out, "Or you could stay and train with me."

Troy watched as Emma skidded to a stop. Then she slowly circled around and rode back towards him. There was a small smile playing on her lips. She put the kickstand down again and unsnapped her helmet.

"I can always print the pictures tomorrow," Emma decided. "Let's train."


	3. Study Session

_A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long. Here's an extra long chapter. Hope that makes up for the delay a little bit._

**Baby Steps**

Emma filed into class behind her fellow Rangers. The second bell rang, signaling that the lesson could officially begin. Mr. Burley got to his feet and moved to stand in front of his desk so that he could address his students.

He smiled at the teenagers before clearing his throat. "Today we're going to start a group project," the science teacher stated. Most of the class cheered. To Emma's right, Gia let out a groan. Emma looked over at the blonde girl sympathetically; she knew how Gia hated assignments like this one. As Emma looked back towards her teacher, she saw the Black Ranger eyeing Gia hopefully. Emma suppressed a smile.

Mr. Burley picked up a clipboard from his desk. "I've already put you into pairs," he announced. He started reading off the list of named, which was met with varying levels of enthusiasm from the students. "Miss Moran will work with Mr. Carver," Mr. Burley said. Across the room, Jake groaned loudly at missing a chance to work with his crush. Mr. Burley ignored this. "Oh yes, and Miss Goodall will work with Mr. Burrows. Did I miss anyone?"

Emma could hardly believe her luck. She twisted in her seat to look back at Troy, who gave her a half smile in return. There was a stampede of movement as the class rearranged itself into pairs that Mr. Burley had assigned. Troy slid into Gia's now empty seat, still giving her that same little smile.

Mr. Burley explained the assignment and let them get to it. Emma looked over the typed sheet detailing the criteria for the project and then she looked over at her Red counterpart. "This is going to be a lot of work," she said. "We'll probably have to put in some time after school, too." The Pink Phoenix smiled as an idea came to her. "Why don't we head over to Ernie's after school so we can work on the project? My treat."

They hadn't been alone together since their little hike through the woods followed by their impromptu training session. That day had been a definite step in the right direction as far as Emma was concerned. She had found out a little about the Red Ranger's past. And because she hadn't pushed for more details than he was willing to share, the Pink Ranger was certain that Troy was really starting to trust her. This was, of course, her goal.

Troy shook his head. "I have to get my sister from the bus stop," he said. There was a pause as Emma tried to come up with an alternative. Then Troy piped up again. "But if it has to be today, you could come home with me and we could work on the project at my house."

Emma had to fight to keep from beaming. She had definitely not been expecting that, but she was pleased nonetheless. The Pink Ranger smiled at him and accepted his offer.

"I don't know how much we'll actually get done though," he added. "My sister…well, she's seven and she likes to be the center of attention."

But even though this statement was one of annoyance, Emma could tell that there was affection there as well. Troy clearly loved his little sister dearly. She hid a smile. To the Dragon Ranger she merely said, "I like kids. I'm sure it'll be fine."

0o0o0o0

At the end of the school day, Emma double checked that she had all of her textbook and then slammed her locked shut. The Pink Ranger made her way out to the front of the school where the buses were parked and got onto the one marked with a 3. She smiled as she caught sight of her Red counterpart sitting towards the back of the bus. She plopped down beside him.

Troy gave her a confused look. "Where's your bike?" he asked.

"My dad dropped me off this morning," the brunette explained. "I'd have to take the bus anyway. Everything worked out pretty well." The Phoenix smiled again.

The Red Ranger was pretty quiet during the ride. By now, Emma was used to this. Troy simply wasn't the kind of person who talked just to talk. Given all the time that Emma had been spending with Jake since they had all become Rangers, she appreciated this.

When they got off of the bus, Troy pulled his red phone from his pocket and checked the time. "We still have about half an hour before the elementary school bus comes," he informed her. "I usually run home first to drop off my stuff. Is there anything you need to do?"

"Trying to get rid of me?" the Pink Ranger teased. She grinned at her Dragon counterpart to let him know that she was only kidding. After a moment of consideration, she nodded. "I have some art supplies at home that we could use for the poster we have to make," Emma answered.

She expected to get a reply along the lines of meeting back at the bus stop, but he surprised her. "Lead the way."

The Pink and Red Rangers fell into step together. It was only a short walk to Emma's house from the bus stop and as they walked, they had a conversation about plans for the project. Granted, it wasn't particularly the type of conversation Emma wanted to have with Troy, but it was better than nothing. As refreshing as it was to be around the quiet Red Ranger, there was only so much silence that Emma could take.

Emma fished her keys from her backpack pocket as they drew level with her house. They walked up the path to the door, which was lined with flowers in every color imaginable. "Nice garden," Troy commented from behind her as she stuck the key into the lock.

She glanced at him over her shoulder. A sad smile crossed her face. "It was my mom's," she said. "Now my dad and I work on it to remember her by. I know it's silly, but it makes us feel close to her." The Pink Ranger swung the front door open and stepped inside. Emma gestured for Troy to follow.

He did. An uncomfortable expression had settled over Troy's features. "I'm sorry," he said. It sounded like he meant it. Emma appreciated that. She'd heard it so often over the years that it had started to sound hollow to her ears.

"Thanks."

The brunette girl climbed the stairs up to her room. She could hear Troy's footsteps behind her. It struck the Pink Ranger that she'd never had a boy in her room before. She was glad she'd had time to straighten it up a little bit before she'd left for school that morning.

Emma opened her closet door and reached up for the art supplies she kept on the top shelf. She pulled down a plastic zipper bag filled with markers and colored pencils, a pad of different colored construction paper, a glue stick, and a big piece of poster paper. "Score," she said to her Red counterpart, holding up the items she had grabbed for them.

He looked over at her from where he stood by the full length mirror. Emma could tell that he'd been examining the little odds and ends she'd stuck along the mirror's frame. "Is this your mom?" Troy asked, pointing to one of the pictures. Emma nodded. "You look like her."

The Pink Ranger smiled, pleased by this comment. It was a nice thing to hear. Troy was smiling back at her. As much as Emma would have liked to continue bonding with the Dragon Ranger, however, it would have to wait. "We should go," she said, "if we want to get back before your sister's bus comes."

He bobbed his head in agreement and wordlessly took the poster paper from her. Emma locked the front door once more when they got outside and both Sky Rangers were on their way again.

The timing was perfect. Emma and Troy arrived back at the bus stop right as the elementary school bus pulled up. A number of kids got off of the bus and scattered, laughing and calling to each other as they walked away.

A little girl with shiny brown hair marched right up to Troy. She was dressed from head to toe in pink. She grinned up at him and then handed him her backpack, which was also pink. Troy took it without complaint.

Then the girl seemed to notice Emma's presence. "Who are you?"

"Mallory," Troy said with a warning in his voice, "don't be rude."

Emma smiled slightly and then squatted down so that she could see the girl better. "I'm Emma. I'm Troy's friend from school."

She considered this for a moment. "I'm Mallory." A look of excitement passed over Mallory's face. Then she asked in an eager tone, "Do you like the Power Rangers, Emma? I do. My mom and dad and I see them on TV all the time. My favorite is the Pink Ranger! I bet she's really pretty and nice in person. Don't you think?"

The Phoenix glanced over at Troy. He merely shrugged. Emma made a note to ask him about it before turning her attention back to the girl in front of her. "I do like the Power Rangers," she confirmed, "and the Pink Ranger is pretty cool. But I think the Red Ranger is pretty cool, too. I think they all are."

Emma straightened herself up once more as Mallory thought this over. "I like you," the little girl decided. "And you're pretty. Isn't she pretty, Troy?"

"She's very pretty, Mallory," the Red Ranger replied patiently. Mallory apparently deemed this to be an acceptable answer because she turned on her heel and began marching down the street. Emma and Troy fell into step behind her.

The Pink Ranger looked up at him with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You didn't have to say that," she murmured, though of course she was pleased at the compliment.

He shrugged again. "It's true."

Emma felt her cheeks warm. "Thanks." Then in a lower voice, she added, "So you never mentioned your little sister is my biggest fan."

"It never really came up," Troy said simply. The Phoenix, slightly annoyed with this reply, just stared at him blankly. Her Red counterpart was apparently amused by this. Emma could have sworn that she saw a twinkle in Troy's green eyes if only for the briefest moment.

Then he turned up a walkway towards a white house with red trim. Emma followed him up to the porch. Mallory was already waiting for them. The younger girl beamed up at her while Troy busied himself with fitting the key into the lock.

Mallory dashed into the house. Troy heaved a quiet sigh before picking up the poster paper from where he had left it and then stepped in after his sister. Emma followed her fellow Sky Ranger inside and shut the door behind her.

The first thing Emma noticed about Troy's house was that there were a lot of windows and natural light was everywhere. Emma definitely liked how bright and open it seemed. It was kind of funny though, because for some reason she had imagined Troy to have a more private sort of home.

She heard the sounds of a cartoon on TV and followed the noise until she found the living room. Mallory had already taken a seat on the couch and kicked off her shoes. Emma heard the sound of running water and turned to see that Troy was standing at the kitchen sink rinsing off a shiny green apple. "Turn it off," he called to his sister. "You know Mom wants you to do your homework before you watch TV."

Mallory did this with a grumble before joining the two teens in the kitchen with her backpack. She took a seat at the table and Emma sat down opposite her biggest fan. Mallory beamed and launched into a lengthy discussion about which Ranger fights she'd seen footage of. Emma listened intently to the younger girl.

"That's enough,": Troy interrupted quietly as he crossed the room. The apple he had been rinsing off was now cut into slices and was arranged in a plate along with a couple of graham crackers. A glass of milk was placed next to it. The Red Ranger ruffled his sister's hair after he gave her the snack. It was nice to see that he clearly had a lot of affection for her. This was a side of Troy that the Pink Phoenix hadn't seen before. She had to admit that she liked it.

Troy settled in next to her at the table and fetched his textbook from his bag. They went over the project's criteria and discussed their ideas again. A quiet afternoon slipped away as the two Sky Rangers worked on their homework and answered an occasional question from Mallory.

They had made decent headway on the assignment when the front door opened. "I'm home!" a female voice called.

"We're in the kitchen, Mom!" Mallory hollered. A moment later, a tall woman with a kind face stepped into the room. She looked surprised to see Emma. The Pink Phoenix got to her feet immediately and started crossing towards the older woman.

"Hi, I'm Emma," she said, sticking her hand out. "It's so nice to meet you, Mrs.-"

Troy's mother smiled and interrupted her gently. "Please call me Renée," she instructed. "It's nice to meet you, too. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Emma noticed how happy Renée sounded at the idea. She guessed that Troy didn't have people over a whole lot. The thought made her sad. So Emma smiled brightly and said, "I'd love to. I'll just let my dad know."

She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text message to her father to tell him about her plans. When Emma looked up from her phone again, she noticed that Troy appeared to be studying her. It was like he was trying to figure out why she had agreed to have dinner with his family. That made her sad, too. Hadn't he figured out by now that she was his friend? Emma just looked back at him for a long time before reaching out to give his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I don't think we're going to get much else done tonight," the Red Ranger said. He gestured toward the half-finished poster and various supplies that were now spread all over the table.

Emma nodded. "We'll have some time in class to work on it," she replied. "It'll be fine." Together, they packed up the supplies and carefully rolled up the poster.

Mallory appeared to be absolutely delighted to have the chance to spend some more time with Emma. The younger girl seized her hand and tugged her towards the staircase at the front of the house. "I'll show you my room!" the girl chirped excitedly. "Come on!"

"Mallory," Troy began as he followed after the two brunettes. Emma looked back at him from over her shoulder and flashed him a brief smile to let him know that it was alright. It was kind of nice to be looked up to.

The first thing Emma noticed about the younger girl's room was that she was everywhere. At least, her Ranger self was. There were all kinds of pictures of the Power Rangers plastered on Mallory's walls. The Pink Ranger featured heavily among them. Emma glanced at her Red counterpart, who was watching from the doorway. He merely shrugged, but Emma could see the smile tugging at his lips.

This look did not go unnoticed by their audience. "Are you his girlfriend?" the younger girl asked bluntly. Emma felt her eyes go wide. Troy looked away, embarrassment on his features.

"No, I'm not his girlfriend," Emma answered eventually.

"You were holding hands in the kitchen," Mallory accused.

"Friends can do that," the Pink Ranger replied.

The younger girl didn't look convinced. But then she was called downstairs by her mother. She skipped from the room, leaving the two Sky Rangers alone together once more. "Saved by the bell," Troy muttered. "Sorry about that."

The Pink Phoenix smiled. "It's alright. She's a sweet kid." Troy just looked at her flatly. Then he seemed to realize that he was still holding their posted.

"I'm going to go put this in my room for safekeeping," he announced, somewhat awkwardly. Emma guessed that he was really embarrassed at his sister's assumption. She followed at his heels as he stepped into a room at the opposite end of the hallway. The Pink Ranger looked around her teammate's room. She wanted to take in every detail that might give her some more clues about Troy, but she also didn't want it to be too obvious.

As far as Emma could tell, it was just a typical teenage boy's room. There were a couple of band posters on the walls and his bed wasn't made. Along the top of his dresser were some shiny golden trophies. Emma zoned in on these, examining the engravings along the bases. "First place…first place…first place." She glanced over at him, grinning, and added, "Wow, you're really good, aren't you? You should enter some of the tournaments around here. You'd probably flatten the kids from Panorama City."

"I'd like to compete again," Troy replied, "but I haven't exactly had the time."

"Yeah, I guess not," Emma admitted. "But when all of this is over you can. I'll come watch you. And I'll take pictures."

Troy shook his head, but he smiled slightly all the same. That was progress as far as Emma was concerned. They were having some fun together at last. She noted how happy and relaxed Troy looked.

They heard the front door open downstairs. "That's Bryan," Troy said, "my stepdad. That means dinner will be ready soon." He crossed the room to the door and led the way downstairs. The Phoenix trailed behind him.

Renée stood at the stove stirring something in a large silver pan. A tall blond man stood slightly behind her. Mallory was clinging to his back like a baby koala bear. The man smiled at Emma and Troy as they entered the kitchen. "Hi, son," he said warmly. "And you must be Emma. Mallory's been talking my ear off about you. It's so nice to have you over."

Again, Emma was saddened. Troy's parents and sister were making such a big deal about her presence. Emma promised herself that this would not be the last time she came over.

Then she said, "Thanks for having me."

Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, which happened to be one of Emma's favorites. Renée was a really good cook, Emma thought appreciatively. As they ate, Emma answered a series of questions about her interests and hobbies. It was a lot different than dinner at her house, which was usually pretty quiet because it was just her and her dad.

After the meal, Emma volunteered to help wash the dishes. Troy's mother smiled at her as they stood side by side at the sink. "I'm glad he met you," Renée told her quietly. "Troy has never really been one to have a big group of friends. But since he started school here he seems to have found a nice. I'm glad for that. I used to worry about him a lot."

Emma nodded. So her suspicions were true. "I'm glad I met him, too," the brunette admitted. She put the last dish in the cabinet and looked at the clock. "I should get going. It's getting late."

She was surprised but pleased when Renée gave her a good-bye hug. "It was so good to meet you," the older woman said. "Really. Come back whenever you want."

"I will," Emma promised. She said her good-byes to Mallory and Bryan and put her jacket back on. Emma was at the door when Troy appeared at her side.

"I'll walk you home." Emma felt her cheeks go red.

Their walk was quiet, but it was a companionable type of quiet rather than an awkward one. She wondered what the next step was. Should she invite him over sometime? "So now what?" Emma asked.

Troy misunderstood her. "Now I go home and try to make sense of pre-calc."

Emma kicked herself for asking such a vague question. Of course he hadn't known what she'd meant. Wanting to play it off, she said helpfully, "Ask Gia to tutor you. She's really good at math. And you know Gia; she gets right down to business. She doesn't waste time."

"That's a good idea," he said. "Thanks."

They had reached her house. He walked right up to the door with her. Emma crossed her fingers that her dad wouldn't choose that moment to come out of the house. The two Sky Rangers looked at each other for a long moment. If life were a romantic comedy, he probably would have taken this moment to kiss her. But he was Troy, and he didn't. "I had a really good time tonight," Emma told him finally. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The Red Ranger grinned. "I had a good time too. Goodnight, Emma."

And with that, he turned and walked away.

Emma watched his retreating figure until she could no longer see him. And then the Pink Ranger smiled to herself before turning and opening the front door and letting herself inside.

"Goodnight, Troy."


	4. Complications

**Baby Steps**

Troy was on his way to lunch when he heard his name being called. He turned to see all four of his fellow Rangers making their way towards him through the sea of other students. Though he was kind of used to being joined for lunch by his teammates by now, it was still kind of nice to be included. That wasn't something he'd had a whole lot of experience with.

The Red Ranger allowed a grin to cross his face briefly. He waited for the others to catch up to him. Emma shifted slightly to her left so that he'd have space to join the group. Troy noticed that the Pink Phoenix looked awfully pleased with herself. He supposed that she should; this was really all her doing.

The group reached their usual spot and made themselves comfortable. Emma folded herself onto the ground next to him and opened her binder. She took out a large manila folder from the inside pocket, which she then pressed into his hand. "Could you give this to Mallory for me, please?" the brunette girl asked.

He took a peek inside the envelope to find a glossy, high quality photograph of Emma in her Pink Ranger uniform. He wondered where she had gotten it from and then thought maybe she had taken it herself. That probably wasn't the _best_ idea, but she had gone out of her way to do something nice for his sister. The idea made him kind of happy. And besides, it wasn't like anyone would be able to tell it was her.

Troy nodded to affirm that he would deliver it. Emma winked.

He cleared his throat. It got his team's attention and they fell silent. To be honest, that was something of a miracle. Troy had no idea how long this would hold, so he decided he'd better speak quickly. "I think we should have another training session," the Dragon Ranger told his teammates. "Today, if possible. Around 4:00?"

Jake, Noah, Gia, and Emma bobbed their heads. "Sounds good to me," Jake said with his usual boundless enthusiasm. "I think we all need to put in as much training time as possible. Is it me, or are the monsters getting tougher?"

"They are," Noah agreed.

The group fell quiet for a moment. Troy certainly thought that his Blue counterpart was correct, but he didn't really want to voice this particular opinion. After all, he was supposed to be the leader. A good leader didn't tell his comrades that they were all doomed and should give up. A good leader inspired confidence in his teammates. "If they're getting stronger, we'll have to get stronger, too," Troy stated firmly.

He saw Emma smile briefly at his encouragement. Then the Red Dragon felt her hand slip into his and squeeze gently for the briefest moment. It was just what she'd done in his kitchen a few days before. Troy felt a little better at this simple gesture. No matter what, he knew Emma was on his side.

Everyone turned back to their previous activities. Noah was busy working on the website, while Jake loudly bemoaned the results of their latest quiz in biology. Gia rolled her eyes. "You could try studying," she said sharply as she busied herself with her calculator. The Black Ranger made a face at the Tiger's comment but didn't reply.

Watching Gia work on her math reminded Troy of Emma's suggestion that he ask the Yellow Ranger for some tutoring. He'd have to get her alone first, though. Troy liked his teammates, but even still there were some types of conversations he preferred to have in private.

It seemed to him that the lunch period went by entirely too quickly. Before he knew it, he was heading back to the school building for English class. Emma was at his side as she usually was these days. If he was going to be honest, he wasn't opposed to that at all. As they neared their classroom, the Pink Ranger gave him a small smile and placed her hand on his arm. "I think you're doing a good job," she informed him quietly. "I mean it."

Hearing these words from his Phoenix counterpart meant a lot to Troy. Again he was struck by the fact that she was really and truly on his side. Knowing that made the Red Dragon feel a lot more secure. He had a feeling that he could always turn to her when things got bad. And he also felt that not only would he do that, but that Emma would _want_ him to.

"Thanks, Emma," Troy replied as they joined their classmates in the room.

Mrs. Nolan began lecturing the class on _David Copperfield_, but Troy couldn't really find it in himself to pay attention. Emma's words were still circling in his head.

0o0o0o0

After school, he went straight home to change clothes. He chose his usual workout outfit and laced up his shoes, eager to get out to the woods. He still needed to get everything set up again. When Troy poked his head into the kitchen to say good-bye to his mom, the Red Ranger saw her give him a small, hopeful smile. "Are you meeting up with Emma?"

"Yeah," he answered, because it wasn't a lie.

"Have fun," she said happily. "Let me know if you'll be late for dinner."

The Red Ranger nodded before turning to go. When he got outside, he did a few warm up stretches before settling into a comfortable jogging pace and heading towards the woods.

As he ran, he pondered the brief conversation he'd just had with his mother. Troy knew that his mom and stepdad had worried he wasn't social enough. He also knew that they tried not to show this concern, but it was obvious. He knew it was just part of their job to be concerned. However, since they'd moved to Harwood, Troy had undoubtedly found himself a group of friends. And his mom was over the moon about that fact, especially whenever Emma's name came up.

Troy could understand that. It was hard not to like Emma. But he did wonder if maybe his mom thought along the same lines that his sister did and assumed that there was more to his and Emma's relationship than friendship. There wasn't, of course, but the Red Ranger had to admit that his Pink Ranger did occupy his thoughts a lot. Probably more frequently than a friend should think about another friend.

But he really couldn't help it. Even though Troy had told himself over and over that he could not afford to be distracted from his duty of saving the world, there was just something about Emma that made him want to forget about that. Maybe it was the way she smiled at him or the way her hand would slip into his so easily to give him a reassuring squeeze. Maybe it was because she had folded herself into his life seemingly effortlessly and clearly had no intention of leaving it anytime soon.

He honestly wasn't sure what he would do if she did.

The Red Dragon shook these thoughts away as he drew level with their training area. Troy made sure everything was ready for his teammates and then started warming up.

As he steadily worked his way through his normal routine, the Red Ranger heard footsteps approaching. He turned around toward the direction the noises were coming from. Troy found himself hoping that this first arrival was Emma. That was a dangerous way to think, he knew, but it didn't change the fact that he thought it.

But it was not the Pink Ranger who advanced towards him. Gia was the one who approached their makeshift training area. He saw that she had changed into workout clothes as well, most of which were bright yellow.

While he had hoped for another few minutes alone with Emma, Gia was of course a good second. He'd needed to talk to her about possibly obtaining her tutoring services anyway. This was as good a time as any to do it. No one else was around.

"Hey, Gia," the Dragon greeted, "I-"

Troy was immediately cut off by the Yellow Tiger, however. As she stalked towards him, he saw that her features were twisted into a snarl. The Red Ranger could not imagine what would possess the Yellow Ranger to look at him like that. He hoped she wasn't under some kind of spell again. Troy fumbled for his morpher, just as a precaution, but Gia took advantage of his distraction.

She swept his legs out from under him with a spinning kick. Troy fell to the ground hard, feeling the air rush from his lungs. Gia leaned over him, that ugly expression still marring her features. He reached for his morpher again and hoped that the others were nearby. Troy definitely didn't want to fight the Tiger, of course, but he absolutely would if he had to.

When Gia noticed that his fingers were clenched around the device, she made a scoffing noise. "You don't need that," she told him. "It's really me. I just wanted to make sure I'd get your undivided attention."

"You did," Troy bit out. He was definitely annoyed now. What on Earth could Gia need his attention for that badly? He sat up slowly and regarded the other teen. Troy did not bother to hide the hostility he felt towards the blonde girl at the moment.

As usual, Gia cut straight to the chase. "Do you like Emma?" she demanded.

For a brief moment, Troy was reminded of his sister and how she had thought Emma was his girlfriend. To his Yellow counterpart he said, "I think how I feel about Emma is between me and her." His response was clipped, but he felt that Gia deserved this. She had unnecessarily attacked him and then demanded information about what Troy thought was a pretty personal subject. He didn't have to tell her anything.

Gia ignored the Dragon Ranger's answer. "It's a simple question, Troy. Do. You. Like. Emma?"

"I don't think that's really any of your business," Troy said firmly.

The Tiger Ranger shook her head, blonde curls swinging side to side. "But you're wrong," she replied. "It _is_. Emma is my best friend. She's helped me through a lot of hard times. I'm protective of her because of that. And I just want you to know that if you hurt her, I will break that pretty boy model face of yours. Understand?"

All Troy could do was stare at her. He'd seen Gia fight and had no doubts that she would make good on her threats if provoked. But Troy also had no intention of doing anything to hurt Emma.

The blonde girl's features softened slightly. "Look, Emma really likes you, okay? I just don't want to see her get hurt."

Before Troy could stop it, a smile broke out on his face at the Yellow Tiger's words. "Did she say that?" he wanted to know.

She hesitated for a moment. "Not exactly," Gia admitted. "But I know Emma better than anyone. I can tell how she feels. She wouldn't be making this much effort for you if she didn't feel _something_. Trust me."

That was certainly something to consider. Now Troy could add Gia's statements to his confusing, ever-growing thoughts about the Pink Ranger. To his Yellow counterpart he said, "I'm not going to hurt Emma."

A rare grin stretched across Gia's features. "Then we're good," the blonde girl informed him. "And you get to keep your face the way it is."

The Dragon had no doubts that Gia had not been bluffing. For a brief moment, he was glad they were on the same side. However, he was no longer sure that he wanted her to tutor him.

But Gia seemed to remember that she had interrupted him before attacking. "Were you going to say something to me when I first got here?"

"Well, I _was_ going to ask you to tutor me in pre-calculus, but now I'm not sure I want you to."

"I can do that," Gia decided. "Tomorrow after school we'll go to Ernie's. You'll buy." Then she shot him another brief smile and offered him her hand. He hesitated for a moment before he took it. Gia rolled her eyes before hailing him to his feet.

Once they were on the same level again, Gia leaned in close to him. "You be good to her," she reminded him. There was no mistaking the warning in the blonde girl's voice. Troy nodded. He definitely would not be underestimating Gia anytime soon.

There were more footsteps coming closer. Troy recognized his other teammates' voices and the sound of Jake's laugh. The Black, Blue, and Pink Rangers appeared at the edge of the clearing. Troy immediately sprang back from Gia, but he could tell that the rest of the team had seen. Noah's expression was curious, but there was something akin to hurt on both the Snake's and the Phoenix's faces.

"Troy and I were just having a little chat," Gia said smoothly. "We should get started now."

They did get started, but it was immediately clear that this was not going to be a very productive training session. Noah was improving steadily and Troy made sure to tell the other boy that. However, Jake and Emma were both clearly distracted by what they had seen. As a result, Troy blocked every moved the Black Ranger threw at him with ease. Emma took a nasty fall off the log. The Red Ranger saw Gia rush to Emma's side, but the brunette girl jerked away from her.

Emma stalked off through the trees without a word to any of them. Not too long after her departure, Jake followed in her footsteps. Noah and Gia both just looked at him. Troy let out a sigh and told them he'd see them in the morning.

He really didn't like where things were going.

0o0o0o0

Troy noticed that Emma seemed determined not to look at him the next day in biology. She didn't turn up at lunch, either. He wanted to talk to her about the misunderstanding they'd had, but he also thought it might be best to just give the Phoenix her space.

The Red Ranger fell into step behind his Yellow counterpart as they headed towards Ernie's Brain Freeze once school let out. Gia settled in at their usual table while he went to order smoothies for the two of them.

He dutifully pulled his textbook from his backpack and opened to the lesson the class was working on. Gia launched into explanations about polynomial functions and real numbers, but Troy wasn't really paying attention to his blonde teammate. His thoughts were still with Emma and how she didn't appear to be talking to him. Troy knew that this was exactly the reason he shouldn't get involved with his teammate; it was only going to cause problems for the Rangers.

But at the same time, he wondered if Emma's actions were because what Gia had said was true. Could Emma's behavior really mean that the Phoenix Ranger possibly returned his more-than-friendly feelings for her? Deep down, Troy knew that even if the blonde girl was right that he shouldn't concentrate on those feelings until the world was safe again. He knew he had a job to do.

The more he thought about Emma reciprocating his emotions, the harder he found it to put them aside.

Gia was asking him questions about the things she'd been instructing him on. Troy was having a hard time answering the questions because his mind was so far away from the Yellow Ranger and pre-calc. Gia glared daggers at him. "I'll go over it again," she said icily. "Pay attention this time."

At that moment, Jake walked into the Brain Freeze. When the Snake Ranger focused in on his Red and Yellow counterparts alone together once more, he turned and stalked out of the building.

"He's so stupid," Gia muttered. "I don't belong to him. And even if I _was_ dating him, it's not like we did anything wrong. I was just telling you what's what."

"I know that and you know that," Troy replied, "but that's probably not what it looked like to them." He got up from the table, tucking his textbook under his arm. "I'm going to go clear this up. We can try the tutoring thing again tomorrow."

The Yellow Ranger's face continued to be marred by a scowl, but she eventually nodded. "Good luck getting through to that blockhead," she called as he left.

Jake had just about reached the mall's exit. The Dragon sprinted after his Snake counterpart, weaving a path through the crowd of shoppers expertly. "Jake!" Troy hollered. He heard the other boy let out an annoyed huff, but the Black Ranger did not take another step. As Troy drew level with Jake he said, "I know what it looks like. But it's not what you think."

The Black Ranger folded his arms over his chest. "I think you like Gia."

"Of course I like Gia. She's my friend," Troy said. He was doing his very best to stay patient, but the other boy was definitely testing him.

Jake shot him an annoyed look. "That's not what I meant," he replied. "I thought you were into Emma, but I guess I was wrong. Just like I was wrong to call you friend." He spat the last part.

"Would you just listen?" Troy demanded. Across from him, the Snake Ranger looked mildly shocked. He said nothing. Troy continued. "Yesterday in the woods, Gia basically attacked me. She wanted to make it clear that she'd…uh, not appreciate it very much if Emma got hurt."

A grin broke out on Jake's face. "I knew it," he said. "So you're really not into Gia?" There was no mistaking the happiness in his tone.

Troy hesitantly returned his teammate's smile. "Not even a little bit," he assured. "And even if I was, I wouldn't do anything about it. We all know how much you like her."

The other boy looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry I acted like such a jerk, man," he apologized. "I should have known you were too cool to do something like that."

The Red Dragon nodded. "It's okay. You might want to apologize to Gia, too. She was pretty angry just now. I'd probably offer to buy her a smoothie, too. Those usually calm her down."

Jake bobbed his head, drinking this information in. the Snake smiled again, gratefully this time. Troy let out a sigh. He knew what was coming next. He had to fix things with Emma. "You haven't seen Emma, have you?"

"I heard her tell Noah she was going home to get flowers from her garden." The Black Ranger looked unusually grim. "Check the cemetery," he said. "She's probably going to visit her mom."

Troy sighed again. He was sure that Emma probably viewed going to the cemetery as a private affair, but he also wanted to get this mess taken care of. "Thanks, Jake," he said quietly.

With that, he turned and walked away from his fellow Ranger, his heart heavy.


	5. Fix

**Baby Steps**

Emma slowly made her way home. Her thoughts were very much still with the situation she'd walked in on yesterday. It left her very confused and hurt. So the Pink Ranger was left with one option. She was going to see her mom.

Her mom had passed away when Emma was thirteen. It was a hard age for a girl and losing her mom on top of everything else had been really hard on the young brunette. Whenever there was something weighing heavily on the Phoenix's chest, she would cut some flowers from the garden and bring them to where her mother was buried and just talk about whatever was bothering her. Emma knew it was probably a little silly to talk to a stone with her mother's name on it, but it always made her feel a little better.

When she arrived home, she dropped off her backpack, bike, and helmet. The Pink Ranger slipped her phone into her shorts pocket and checked that she had her morpher before she locked up the house again. Then Emma knelt in the garden and carefully cut some bright yellow daffodils that had been her mother's favorites.

She got to her feet and brushed some stray dirt from her clothes. Then Emma set off towards the town's cemetery on foot.

As she walked, the Phoenix tried to sort out her multitude of complicated thoughts. She was now pretty sure that getting close to Troy had been nothing but a colossal waste of time. It seemed that while she had been slowly falling for him, he had been falling for Gia.

Emma knew that Gia would never do anything to hurt her. But at the same time, Emma was also sure of what she had seen the previous day. She, Jake, and Noah had happened upon the Red and Yellow Rangers very much alone and very close together. And as soon as he had seen her, Troy had sprung back from Gia in a way that Emma could only describe as guiltily.

The Pink Phoenix wanted to give her friends the benefit of the doubt. She knew that while she had not explicitly stated to her interest in Troy to her best friend, Gia undoubtedly knew. It sure would be a shame if eleven years of friendship with the Tiger went down the drain over a guy, but Emma couldn't deny that if Gia really _had_ been flirting with Troy that she'd be hurt very badly.

And Troy…well, Emma certainly knew that she had no claim to her Red Ranger, but she'd really thought there was a spark there. Everything that had happened between them had really meant something to the brunette girl. The Phoenix had hoped that she had meant something to him, too.

If he was really into Gia, she'd just have to find a way to accept that. It wouldn't be easy, though. Emma knew that from experience. One of the pitfalls of being best friends with Gia was that boys had pretended to be interested in her to get closer to the blonde girl. There had been one boy in particular who'd done quite a number on Emma's heart. It wasn't Gia's fault that so many boys wanted her, of course, but it didn't hurt any less.

While she had been ruminating on these feelings, the Pink Ranger's feet had carried her to the cemetery on autopilot. As she drew closer to the gate, she noticed a very familiar figure leaning against it. The Pink Ranger froze in her tracks for a moment.

Then the brunette girl squared her shoulders and clutched the flowers a little tighter. She marched up to where Troy stood and looked him right in the eye. He straightened up when he saw her approach. Emma fought to keep her voice level. The last thing she wanted him to know was how much yesterday had really gotten to her. "I don't want to talk to you."

Troy met her gaze. "But I want to talk to you."

Emma channeled her inner Gia. She wanted to sound as mean as she could. "Make it quick," she snapped. Then she inwardly winced. Being rude just wasn't in her nature.

"I'm sorry about what you saw," the Red Dragon told her. "But it's not what it looked like, I promise."

The Pink Ranger felt her heart swell hopefully. She quickly quieted her optimistic side, however. Emma didn't want to get her hopes up only for them to be knocked down again. "If it's not what it looked like tell me what really happened."

A hint of red found its way to Troy's face. "Gia was telling me to be careful," he said finally. "She said that if I knew what was good for me, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Emma felt her own cheeks turn red. So her suspicions of Gia knowing how she felt about Troy _were_ correct. And it was just like the Tiger to be overprotective of her. Emma was sure she'd be embarrassed of that fact if it weren't kind of endearing.

Troy was still looking at her anxiously. "Please say something," he coaxed.

There were a lot of things Emma could have said at that moment. Most of them were happy sentiments. But still she remembered how badly she'd been burned before and didn't want a repeat with Troy. She had to hear him confirm that he wasn't, in fact, interested in the Yellow Ranger. "So you really don't like Gia?" Her voice was just barely above a whisper. Embarrassed by this, the Phoenix ducked her head, hiding her face behind her long curtain of hair like she always did when she was nervous.

He reached out and tucked some hair being her ear. His fingers brushed gently against her cheek. Troy never once broke his gaze away from hers. "I don't like Gia as anything more than a friend."

Emma could hear the sincerity in his voice. She decided that she believed her Dragon counterpart. Emma closed the distance between them, winding her arms around his torso and pressing her face against his chest. He stiffened for a moment but then she slowly felt him relax in her embrace. Then Troy returned the hug.

After a long moment, the Red Ranger pulled back. He looked at her carefully before saying, "It happened to you before, didn't it?"

"What did?" she asked, though the brunette girl had a good idea as to what he meant.

"Someone got close to you so they could get to Gia."

Emma hesitated for a moment before nodding. "His name was Stephen. I was crazy for him in the way only a twelve-year-old girl can be about a boy. I mean, we're talking drawing his initials on my notebooks, passing notes to him in class…it's kind of embarrassing looking back on it. Anyway, there was a dance coming up at school. I waited all week for Stephen to ask me to go with him. And after school one day, he asked if I thought Gia would want to be his date. I cried for days."

The Red Ranger looked at her sympathetically. "It sounds like you're better off without him."

She nodded. "I know I am. Everyone told me that, especially Gia. She actually got in trouble for some of the…colorful things she said to him after what he tried to pull. I know it wasn't her fault but it was still hard to go through. It's hard to be her friend sometimes because of stuff like that. And when I saw the two of you together like that yesterday, I thought it was happening again." As she got to the end of her little speech, she spoke faster, as if saying the words in a rush would help them tumble from her lips.

"I'm sorry you went through that," Troy said quietly. "I can see why you came to the conclusion that you did. But I promise, you'll never have to worry about me doing anything like that."

Again, the Pink Phoenix could tell that her Dragon counterpart was sincere. And she felt a lot better at Troy's statement. Troy offered her a small smile which she readily returned.

It was then that Emma realized she was still clutching the daffodils she'd brought for her mom. She held them up so he could see. "I guess I should go drop these off. I was going to talk to her about what happened, but now that it's all sorted out I don't have to. It's silly, isn't it? The things I do to remember her by."

"I don't think it's silly at all," he said softly. "It sounds like you were close to your mom. You shouldn't feel silly doing things that make you remember her."

She could only smile at the Dragon's kind words. Then Emma made her way through the gate and past rows and rows of tombstones until she found her mother's. She heard the Red Ranger walking along behind her and was glad that Troy apparently wanted to show some solidarity to her. Usually this was something Emma did on her own. She'd never even brought Gia along. But the more she thought about it, the more Emma liked the idea of having Troy along for the visit.

Her mom's grave was marked by a simple gray marble tombstone. Emma laid the flowers down and took in the familiar words etched neatly into the stone.

_In Loving Memory_

_of_

_Lucy Goodall_

_Beloved Wife and Mother_

_1970 – 2008_

As Emma straightened up again she noticed her Red counterpart standing beside her. His expression was stoic, but to Emma it meant a lot that he wanted to be here with her for this.

"Hey, Mom," Emma said softly, because it felt weird to be here without speaking. "It's been awhile. I've been busy." She glanced at Troy quickly and saw a very small smile on his face at this comment. "I was coming here to tell you about a boy problem I had, but it's been fixed now. I bet you would've had some good advice if you were here, though."

The Pink Ranger noticed that Troy had stepped aside slightly, possibly in an effort to give her some privacy. But he was still close enough to hear anything she might say, so Emma considered her words carefully before speaking. "This is my friend Troy, by the way. Actually, he's part of the reason I was coming by. Everything's okay now though. I think you'd like him."

The little smile on Troy's face grew a bit bigger. The brunette girl grinned back at him. "Bye, Mom. I love you," Emma added. She turned to the Dragon Ranger again. "Ready?"

He nodded. Together, both Sky Rangers made their way back through the cemetery. Neither of them said anything. Emma wondered if she had scared him off. Bringing a guy to her mom's grave probably wasn't the most romantic thing she could have done. Emma found herself itching to take his hand but couldn't do it. Every other time she'd held his hand it had come easily, naturally. But there was no denying that something had changed between them now. She didn't know if it was a good kind of change.

The Phoenix Ranger tried desperately to think of something to say to break the awkward silence, but the boy beside her did so first. "I kind of understand what you must go through," Troy told her in a quiet tone. "I don't know my dad. He took off when I was a kid. I haven't seen or heard from him since. Bryan's a better father to me than he ever was and I think I'm turning out alright. But I get what it's like to not have one of your parents around."

Emma felt a rush of sympathy for the older boy at her side. True, she and Troy had vastly different types of absent parents, but she could still relate. "I'm sorry," she told him, meaning it. He nodded.

At the cemetery gate, Emma turned left, ready to go home. The Red Ranger continued to walk in silence beside her. It was kind of nice to be walked home, like something out of an old movie, but she would have liked to talk to Troy. It didn't even matter about what. If Emma was going to be honest with herself, she really just liked hearing the sound of his voice. But at the same time, she didn't want to try to put any pressure on him or try to push things that weren't ready to be pushed. So they walked on in silence.

They drew level with her house. When they got to the porch, Emma noticed that her Red counterpart looked almost conflicted. She guessed that he wanted to stay with her as much as she wanted him to stay. So the brunette girl folded herself onto the porch and patted the spot beside her. Troy mimicked her actions, settling in next to her without a word.

It had been such a heavy afternoon. A lot had happened between their discussion about their feelings and how she'd been hurt before, seeing her mom's grave, and his revelation about his father. and coupled with the fact that they also had the fate of the world resting on their shoulders, it was all a little too serious for Emma.

So the Phoenix felt that it was up to her to fix that. She leaned into him, playfully bumping her shoulder against his. He looked down at her curiously. Emma grinned up at her Red Ranger. "So what do you like best about me?" she asked in a sing song voice.

He was thoughtful for a moment before replying, "That look you have on your face right now. Whenever I think about you, I always picture you smiling." He said this in a matter of fact way, without a trace of embarrassment. She felt her cheeks turn pink again. Troy went on. "I also really admire your passion for your causes. It's really cool how you stick to your guns no matter what other people say. It's genuine."

Emma smiled softly. She'd had no idea he thought of her like that. The Pink Ranger was flattered to say the least.

Her Red counterpart spoke up again. "What do you like about me?"

"Your dedication," she answered promptly. "Being a Ranger comes first to you. That's really admirable." Emma looked up at him and winked before adding, "But your smile is nice, too."

He gave her one of those rare smiles. "I do like you, Emma -"

"And not the way you like Gia," she interrupted, clarifying.

Troy shook his head. "Not the way I like Gia. But I do want to take things slowly because the last thing I want is to mess this up.

"Okay," the Pink Ranger replied, though she was a little disappointed at this news.

She was saved from having to say anything else by the sprinklers going off. They were right in the crossfire and were both soaked instantly. Emma let out a sharp squeal as she dashed across the yard and around to the other side of the house where the control panel for the sprinklers was. She frantically turned it off before returning to Troy. "I'm sorry! I forgot that my dad set them to go off automatically."

Emma caught sight of her fellow Ranger and felt all coherent thoughts fly right out of her head. He had shrugged off his jacket to reveal his red T-shirt clinging to him. She had to admit that the view was a good one. Eventually, the Pink Ranger that her own clothing must be doing the same thing. She pulled her jacket a little tighter around herself.

"It's okay," Troy replied, grinning.

And the more Emma thought about it, the funnier it was. It was so ridiculous to be standing in her front yard soaking wet after the admittedly strange, heavy afternoon she'd had. So she started to laugh. It was a full blown kind of laughter that made her stomach hurt and her eyes water. Troy stared at her for a moment and then he started to laugh as well.

Troy crossed the small space that separated them. He tucked some wet hair behind her ear, just as he had done earlier. He was still grinning down at her. Emma wondered if he might toss the whole "taking it slow" thing out of the window and kiss her. Emma's breathing hitched in anticipation.

He didn't, though. His hands fell awkwardly to his sides. Emma felt a little disappointed yet again, but it occurred to her that waiting a little longer would only make it better when it actually happened. "I'd invite you inside to dry off, but my dad'll be home soon," the Pink Ranger said finally, noticing how low the sun was sinking in the sky. "I think he might get the wrong idea if he came home and saw us like this."

"I wouldn't want that," Troy murmured. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

She watched him walk away with a smile on her face. When she could no longer see him, Emma turned back to the house. She let herself in and raced up the stairs to her room.

She couldn't wait to tell Gia all the details.


	6. Sick Day

**Baby Steps**

Emma wasn't at school.

Troy had gotten a text message from her before school that morning. It said she had a stomach bug and that she wouldn't be in.

He'd been sorry to hear that. Ever since they had started…well, whatever it was that their relationship had evolved into, Troy had looked forward to seeing her every chance he got. Naturally, school was a large part of where they saw each other.

The Red Ranger knew that this was probably going to come back to haunt him in some way. He'd told himself over and over again that being more than friends and teammates with Emma was a bad idea that would probably result in giving their enemies another tactic to use against them. It had already caused some unnecessary drama among the Ranger team with the training fiasco in the woods.

And despite knowing these things, Troy had thrown caution to the wind. He'd admitted his feelings to his Pink Ranger and she'd done the same in return. Ever since then, they'd pretty much spent all of their spare time together.'

They were still taking things slowly, however. Just as he'd told Emma, Troy really didn't want to mess things up with her. He'd never really been involved with anyone and didn't quite know all the rules. Emma was special and she'd come to mean a lot to him. The last thing Troy wanted to do was scare her off by moving things along too quickly.

His family was happy. Mallory adored Emma, of course, and it always made Troy smile to see how sweet Emma was to his little sister. His mom and stepdad were nice, too, and always went out of their way to make Emma feel welcome. The Dragon Ranger was also grateful that they never brought out any embarrassing pictures or told any anecdotes about his childhood.

But even though the Phoenix Ranger had been over to his house a lot, he hadn't really been to hers. He hadn't met Emma's father, either. She had explained to him that her dad worked long hours and had ever since her mother died. On the weekends they worked in her mom's garden a lot, but she'd never invited him over to help out. Troy got the sense that the garden was a private father/daughter thing.

Troy was okay with that, though. Meeting Emma's dad seemed sort of serious. It wasn't like he didn't see them getting to that serious stage someday, but for now he wanted to keep their relationship as simple as possible.

At school, he met up with his remaining teammates. Jake was going on about a soccer game from the night before, but no one was really paying attention to the Black Ranger. The bell for first period rang and the four Rangers filed into class. They all took their seats as Mr. Burley started to pass out a vocabulary worksheet to help the class study for an upcoming test.

There was a relaxed sort of atmosphere in the classroom. Mr. Burley allowed the students to talk quietly amongst themselves as they filled out their papers. Troy was pleasantly surprised to see that he remembered most of the terms and he was now considerably less worried about the upcoming test. That was probably a good thing because it wasn't as if he had a lot of spare time to study.

The bell for second period rang. Troy was in no hurry, though. He'd had an idea while filling out his worksheet. He hung back by Mr. Burley's desk. The teacher gave him a kind smile. "Can I help you with something, Troy?"

"I was wondering if I could have another worksheet to take to Emma so she won't fall behind," the Dragon Ranger said. He knew that the Pink Ranger would undoubtedly be grateful for the gesture. It would also give him an excuse to see her.

"That's very nice of you," Mr. Burley commented as he took another paper off of the stack. "Have a good day."

0o0o0o0

Troy spent part of his lunch break going to collect Emma's other assignments. They had English together but she had a different math class and a different history class. He was lucky to catch both teachers and they wrote the assignments down for him without complaint. He did notice that both of the adults gave him knowing sort of smiles when he explained what he was doing.

After school, Gia opened Emma's locker for him so he could get Emma's textbooks. As usual, the Yellow Tiger was flanked by Jake and consequently, Noah.

"You know," the Snake Ranger began as he tucked his soccer ball under his arm, "for someone who swears he's not Emma's boyfriend, you are definitely displaying boyfriend behavior."

This comment earned Jake an eye roll from Noah and an elbow to the ribs from Gia. He let out a surprised yelp.

"I think it's kind of sweet," Gia said as she pulled the locker door open. The blonde girl have him an approving smile. "And I bet Emma will, too." Gia hitched her yellow backpack up on her shoulders and strode through the hallways. As usual, Jake chased after her. Noah gave a resigned sigh, waved good-bye to Troy, and followed in the Black and Yellow Ranger's wakes.

The Red Dragon shook his head at his teammates. Then he reached into the locker and pulled out Emma's textbooks, arranging them into a neat pile. He picked a path through the crowd of students to the front doors of the school and made his way out to his bus.

When the bus arrived at his stop, the Red Ranger turned in the opposite direction that he usually went. Emma's home was only about two blocks away, which he was grateful for. Lugging around an extra set of books wasn't exactly fun.

The Goodall home was easily visible from the end of the block due to the extensive garden. As Troy made his way closer to the house, he could see that there was a black car parked in the driveway. He hadn't seen it before, but he could only assume that the car belonged to Mr. Goodall.

It hadn't occurred to Troy that Emma's dad might be home. The thought made him hesitate.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Emma's dad or anything. Whenever the Phoenix Ranger brought up her father, she always spoke with affection and Troy had surmised that they were close. Given that Emma was an only child and that her dad was a widower, that made sense.

He didn't really know how to act around fathers. Bryan had always been good to him, but they had never dropped the "step" prefix from their relationship. And his own father had taken off years ago. So when faced with the possibility of meeting his sort-of-girlfriend's father for the first time, it was really no wonder that he paused.

But, the Red Ranger reasoned, he hadn't come all this way for nothing. There was no need to be afraid of meeting Mr. Goodall. Everything would be fine.

Troy squared his shoulders and marched up to the door. He prodded the doorbell and tried to smile as he waited for a good first impression never hurt.

The door was pulled open a moment later. This revealed a tall man with slightly untidy chocolate brown hair and rectangular glasses. The eyes behind those glasses were the exact same as Emma's. Troy could see the kindness there.

The man looked a little puzzled. "Can I help you, young man?"

"I'm Troy Burrows. I'm Emma's…um, friend." That was, after all, the simplest explanation. He and Emma were far from labeling themselves as "boyfriend and girlfriend." The Red Dragon held out the neatly stacked textbooks so that Mr. Goodall could see them better. "I brought Emma's assignments for her."

Mr. Goodall thought about that for a moment. "I know that name. Emma's been spending a lot of time with you, hasn't she?" the older man questioned. His tone was mild, which Troy was grateful for. He didn't sound disapproving or angry at all. Mr. Goodall smiled slightly before stepping back from the door. "Come on in."

Troy did as he was told. Mr. Goodall shut the door behind him. "Emma seems to like you a lot," he informed the Dragon Ranger. "How do you feel about her?" There was a pause before he added, "I really value honesty, Troy."

"I like Emma a lot, too," Troy replied. "She has a way of coaxing me out of my shell. And her point of view is pretty unique. I like talking to her and spending time with her."

Maybe this was a bit much to be confessing to Emma's dad at their first meeting, but it was the truth. Troy hoped that maybe if he put it all out there in the open, Mr. Goodall might give his stamp of approval. Since Emma and her father were so close, things would no doubt be a lot easier if Mr. Goodall liked him.

There was another pause before Mr. Goodall continued. "She says you're not her boyfriend. Is that true?"

"Yes, sir," Troy answered. "We're taking things slowly."

Troy was glad that Mr. Goodall's expression was definitely one of approval at this statement. "I like you," he said simply. "You can go on upstairs to Emma's room. It's the first door on the left." Troy, of course, had already been in Emma's room the day they'd worked on their project, but Emma had apparently neglected to tell her dad about this little detail. He was not about to bring it up, though. Not when Emma's dad had decided to like him.

He smiled appreciatively at the older man. "Thanks, Mr. Goodall." He started up the flight of steps to the second storey.

"Call me Victor," Mr. Goodall corrected. "'Mr.' is a little too formal for me."

'_Well,'_ Troy mused, _'First name basis is usually a good sign.'_

The Dragon reached the upstairs landing. He turned immediately to his left and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," Emma rasped from the other side of the door.

Troy pushed it open. He could see that Emma was in a lot worse shape than she had told him. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. Her hair was tousled and she was wearing what appeared to be pink flannel pajamas. The Pink Ranger leaned against the headboard with a thick comforter wrapped around her shoulders. There was a laptop adorned with pink and red butterfly stickers balanced on her knees. Troy could hear the narrator of a nature documentary droning away through the speakers.

When Emma looked up and saw that he was standing in her doorway, her brown eyes widened in horror.

"I cannot believe he let you in here when I'm like this!" the Pink Ranger exclaimed. She let out a groan and turned her face away so that she was hidden behind her long curtain of hair.

Troy was confused, to say the least. "When you're like what?" the Red Ranger questioned. "When you're sick? I won't get too close if that's what you're worried about."

Emma hit the pause button and carefully set the laptop on her nightstand. "I'm _gross_," the Phoenix told him flatly. "I've been throwing up all day and I haven't brushed my hair and I'm wearing my oldest pajamas…"

That was not exactly the answer he had been expecting. Troy just looked at his Pink counterpart for a long moment before replying, "I don't think you're gross, Emma," he told her truthfully. Even though she looked a little beat up for sure, he could still recognize what he thought to be her best features.

"Well, of course you're not going to _tell_ me that," the Pink Ranger huffed. But she didn't fool him at all. He could see the faint tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Why are you here, anyway?"

Now Troy smiled. "I brought your homework."

The traces of pink on her cheeks deepened in color. "You didn't have to do that," she said. The Pink Ranger was obviously touched by this gesture despite her protests. The slightly shy smile gracing her face told him that. "You're sweet," Emma added quietly, more to herself than to him.

Troy smiled, too. He made his way deeper into the room. The Dragon put Emma's textbooks and the list of her assignments down on her desk and then shrugged off his backpack. He settled into her desk chair. "I wanted to see you," he admitted to the Phoenix.

"Even like this?" Emma questioned. She gestured to her admittedly less than put together self. "Because I wouldn't blame you if you'd wanted to avoid seeing me so sloppy."

"Even like this.'

The Pink Ranger ducked away again, her cheeks still pink. "Sweet," she mumbled.

Troy was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "I _did_ have to listen to Jake talk about how bringing you your homework was 'boyfriend behavior', but I think it was worth it," he informed her.

Emma laughed softly. "'Boyfriend behavior', huh?" Troy nodded. The Phoenix managed a smile. "He's probably just mad that he never thought to bring Gia her homework when she's sick."

"Probably," the Red Ranger agreed.

The pair of Sky Rangers fell into silence for a few minutes. "What did I miss at school?" she asked eventually, just when the silence was getting to be a tiny bit awkward.

"In biology we filled out a vocabulary worksheet. In English we talked about _David Copperfield_ some more and Mrs. Nolan handed out essay assignments." At this news, his Phoenix counterpart let out a soft groan. Troy could empathize with her. Their teachers had been hitting them pretty hard lately.

"And our…_extracurriculars_?" Emma inquired. "Have there been any _meetings_ I should know about?"

Troy caught on to Emma's use of code words right away. "No meetings," the Red Ranger answered. "But until you're feeling better, don't worry about making it to any of the meetings, okay?" The last thing he wanted was for Emma to get hurt because she was too sick to fight.

Emma frowned slightly now. "But I'm a member," she said. "I should be there for all of the meetings."

He didn't really want to argue with her, but he also didn't want her to be in a battle in her current condition. The monster attacks had been becoming more and more frequent and odds were that there would be at least one more before she was feeling well again.

But Troy was saved from having to answer his Pink Ranger because Mr. Goodall chose that moment to enter the room. He carried a tray with a bowl of tomato soup, a grilled cheese sandwich cut into quarters, and a big glass of water balanced on it carefully. The older man carefully set the tray over Emma's lap, the metal legs on either side of her.

"I know you're probably still queasy, but you should try to eat. This is comfort food, the best thing to eat while you're sick." Mr. Goodall smiled down at his daughter kindly. The brunette girl beamed back before picking up the spoon next to the bowl. Apparently satisfied that Emma was feeling well enough to eat again, the older man's attention shifted back to Troy. "You should probably be getting home soon, don't you think?"

The message was pretty clear to the Dragon Ranger. Mr. Goodall had allowed him to talk to Emma for awhile, but now it was time for him to leave. He nodded immediately. So far, Emma's dad didn't dislike him. Troy didn't want to press his luck.

Mr. Goodall turned on his feel and crossed the room. He glanced back at Troy. There was an expression on his features that said he didn't want to tell Troy to leave twice. The Red Ranger got to his feet and slipped his backpack over his shoulders once more.

Emma rolled her eyes. Troy saw her swallow her mouthful of food. Then she piped up again. "He and Gia are _so_ overprotective of me. Sorry about that." She looked up at him apologetically.

"It's okay," he replied. "I understand."

And he did. He was just glad he'd gotten to see her, if only for a little while. The Red Ranger crossed the room to where his Pink counterpart sat. Very gently, he brushed back a few stray hairs from her face. He noticed Emma's cheeks turn pink again. "Feel better, Emma."

She nodded. "I'll do my best." The Phoenix stared up at him for a moment, her brown gaze locked on his. "I meant what I said earlier," she added. "If there's a _meeting_, I need to know about it. I need to be there."

Troy let out a resigned sigh. "If we need another _member_, you'll be the first person I call," he assured her. He was really reluctant about the idea of Emma fighting in this state.

The brunette girl smiled again, satisfied with his promise to include her. "Will you come see me again tomorrow?" she asked sweetly.

"I'll be here," Troy promised. He already knew he'd have a hard time going another day without seeing her.

He wished her sweet dreams and made his way back downstairs. Mr. Goodall was waiting by the door. He said good-bye to the older man and started down the path towards the sidewalk.

As he passed by the front of the house, he heard a loud _thumping_ sound. Slightly startled, his green gaze snapped up towards Emma's room. She was standing next to her window, waving and grinning at him.

Troy couldn't help it. He waved back.


	7. Birthday

**Baby Steps**

Emma and Troy were enjoying another quiet afternoon together. They were sitting at the kitchen table at Troy's house so that they could keep an eye on Mallory. The little girl was contentedly coloring in a Megaforce coloring book while the two teenagers worked on homework. Emma was not even a little surprised at the fact that Mallory had a Power Ranger coloring book; all kinds of merchandise had been popping up lately.

Their lives had been so hectic lately that it was nice to have a break. Between the Warstar Aliens and the Toxic Mutants, the Rangers had been hit pretty hard. Emma was still a little sore from their last fight, to tell the truth.

It was getting hard to juggle school as well. Nowadays, most of her school assignments were completed late at night or early in the morning. She hoped that she could fully catch up on her assignments today so that she could get a good night's sleep.

Troy, she knew, was in the same boat. Their Ranger duties were something that the Phoenix took seriously, of course, but they weighed on Troy even more heavily. Even now, he looked like he could have used a good nap.

The Red Dragon must have felt her gaze lingering on him. He looked up from his pre-calculus notes and gave her a small smile. The Pink Ranger felt one of his hands slip into hers beneath the table. He gave it a gentle squeeze.

She smiled back at him and went back to her own work. Emma had just finished her review questions for history when the front door opened and Troy's mother walked into the house. Renée appeared in the kitchen with her arms full of groceries.

"Hi, kids," she said in her warm voice. "Troy, Mallory, would you go bring in the rest of the groceries?"

Both Burrows children went outside to start carrying in the rest of the food. Emma gladly put her textbook and notes aside and began to help put the groceries away. Renée gave her a thankful smile.

When Troy came back, his mom gestured proudly to some of the things she'd bought. "I got all your favorites for your birthday dinner next week," she said. "And I found a recipe for a red velvet cake I thought you'd like." Renée turned to Emma. "You and the rest of your friends are coming, right?" Her smile was hopeful now.

"Mom," Troy muttered quietly. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor.

Emma was a little confused. She hadn't even known that Troy's birthday was coming up. "It's your birthday?" the Pink Phoenix asked her Red counterpart.

Now Mrs. Burrows frowned. "It's next week, on the 4th. Really, Troy, Bryan and I told you to invite your friends over weeks ago. Emma, talk some sense into him for me, please."

The Phoenix grinned up at the Dragon. "It sounds like fun to me," she said. Troy shot her a look that said she wasn't being very helpful. Her little smile only grew wider in response. "I'll make sure to tell Gia and the guys tomorrow at school."

Emma caught sight of the time. "I should get going. I promised my dad I'd make it home for dinner tonight." She glanced up at Troy again. "Walk me home?" she asked.

Troy helped her gather her things and Emma quickly said her good-byes to the rest of the Burrows family. She assured Renée that she and the others would definitely be there for Troy's birthday. The older woman looked at her appreciatively at this confirmation.

They were almost halfway to her house before Emma got up the nerve to talk to her Red Ranger about what had just happened. "So you really weren't going to tell me?" Emma questioned. She did her best not to sound accusatory.

"To be fair, I don't know when your birthday is," Troy replied with a tiny bit of amusement on his features.

The Pink Ranger frowned. "It's April 1st," she told him. Emma placed a hand on his arm, effectively stopping the Dragon in his tracks. "What is this really about, Troy?" she asked gently.

He let out a sigh. "After my dad took off when I was a kid, we didn't have a lot of money. Birthday parties weren't really high on the priority list. Then when my mom married Bryan, she tried to make up for me missing out all those years by throwing me a big party. We invited the whole class. And no one came."

"I'm sorry," Emma told him. "That's rough. But you shouldn't let that stop you from celebrating now. We're your friends, Troy. All you have to do is ask and we're there."

"You really think they'll want to come?" he asked skeptically.

She smiled confidently as she could manage to. "I know they will," she replied.

"Alright," the Red Ranger conceded. "I'll ask them tomorrow."

The two Sky Rangers fell into step again. Emma's thoughts were already on what kind of gift she could get for Troy. She wanted something that would show him that he did belong here with her and their friends. Unfortunately, thinking of something to fit that description was a little easier said than done.

They arrived at her door. She lingered for a moment with her hand on the handle, hoping that the Dragon might say something else. He did.

"Thanks for talking me into this," Troy murmured. "It might be fun after all. You'll be there, right?"

"With bells on," Emma assured her Red counterpart with a grin. He cracked a smile in return. Then he surprised her by leaning down and kissing her cheek. The Pink Ranger felt herself blush.

"Goodnight, Emma," he said quietly.

"Goodnight," she echoed. She watched Troy make his way down the path to the sidewalk and back towards his house. When he was no longer in sight, Emma let herself into her own home. She called a greeting to her father and ran up the stairs to her room. The Phoenix felt more than a little giddy.

In all the weeks that had passed since their confessions, he had yet to even try to kiss her. To be honest, Emma was getting a little tired of being patient. But now that he was apparently comfortable kissing her cheek, could that mean he wanted to start taking things a little more seriously? She hoped so.

Emma flopped face down on her bed. The Pink Ranger grinned into her pillow for a moment before rolling over onto her back. She reached for her phone to call Gia, but then she thought better of it. The Yellow Tiger had spent their lunch break working on an essay for English and was probably still trying to finish it up. Emma and her blonde teammate had the type of friendship where they told each other everything. She was pretty sure her friend wouldn't mind hearing a bit of new gossip, but the more Emma thought about it the more she wanted to keep it to herself. She reasoned that she could tell Gia all about it when Troy actually kissed her.

The Pink Ranger decided that she should brainstorm some ideas about Troy's birthday gift. It definitely had to be something special, but what? His main interest and hobby was his karate, but she couldn't really think of anything related to that that she could get for him.

Her mother had always told her that the best kind of gifts came from the heart. That was a philosophy that Emma had always agreed with. She just wished that she had an idea to run with. The Phoenix was pretty sure that Troy would be happy with anything she presented him with, but Emma really wanted her gift to be special. It couldn't be just any run of the mill present.

Emma sat up again. Maybe she _should _call Gia after all. Maybe the blonde girl could give her a few tips. As Emma reached for her phone again, her gaze fell on her digital camera.

She dropped the phone and climbed off of her bed. She crossed the room to where the camera sat on her desk and picked it up. That might be a good place to start. She did think of herself as a photographer after all. Maybe she could put together a photo album for Troy.

Emma felt a grin slide across her face.

0o0o0o0

The Phoenix was extra busy over the next few days. When she wasn't in school or fighting monsters, she was taking and developing photographs.

Her idea was to take pictures of everyone in Harwood who cared about Troy and wanted him there. So far she had a good collection. She had pictures of various combinations of their three teammates, Ernie, his mom and stepdad, and Mallory. The only person she had not included yet was herself.

But today she was going to remedy that. Emma pushed open the front doors of Harwood County High. She saw Troy sitting on the steps with his back to her. This was just as they'd planned. Emma hadn't told him why she wanted to meet up with him after school. She wanted to keep her gift a secret until his birthday.

The Pink Phoenix crept across the stoop to where her teammate sat. She folded herself into the ground next to him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. Emma held her camera above their heads and angled it down so that they would both be in the shot. "Smile!" the brunette commanded cheerfully. She snapped the picture.

Emma flipped the camera so that she could examine the picture. It really had turned out great and looked just the way she wanted it to. The Pink Ranger couldn't help but grin.

"What was that about?" Troy asked as he turned to look at her. The amusement in the Red Ranger's eyes told her that he really didn't mind.

Emma mimed zipping her lips and tossing away the key. "It's a surprise," she informed the older boy. "Top secret."

"Really?" Troy asked, arching an eyebrow. The brunette girl bobbed her head. "And does it have something to do with my birthday?"

"Maybe," Emma answered in a sing song voice. She let out a giggle. "You'll find out soon enough."

The Dragon got to his feet and extended his hand to her. He hauled her up easily and they started down the steps together. "Can I at least see the photo?" Troy asked.

She shook her head. "Not til tomorrow."

The older boy let out a small groan at Emma's mention of his birthday celebration. "What?" she asked. "Still having second thoughts?"

Troy nodded. "I just don't want to make a big deal about it, Emma. It's not that important."

Emma frowned up at him. "It's important," she protested. "Maybe your birthdays in the past weren't so great. But that doesn't mean this one won't be. We're your _friends_. We want to celebrate with you. You're only going to turn eighteen once, right?"

"Yeah, but –" the older boy began. Emma held up her hand, cutting him off.

"Not another word. It'll be fun, I promise. We'll all be there, okay?"

He sighed. "Okay." After a brief pause, the Dragon smiled down at her. "Want to go to Ernie's?"

The Phoenix shook her head. "I have some things to work on still. Rain check?" Emma asked hopefully.

"Sure," Troy agreed. He still looked pretty amused at her antics of keeping things a secret until his birthday, and she knew he wasn't too disappointed.

The brunette girl beamed up at her Red teammate. "Great," she enthused. Emma perched on her tiptoes for a moment to plant a kiss on his cheek before she all but skipped towards the bike rack. She was in such a good mood about her plans for Troy's gift and how well the picture of the two of them had come out. The Pink Rangers crossed her fingers that the city would be spared from another monster attack today. She didn't want her good spirits to be spoiled.

Emma carefully stowed her camera in her backpack before she pulled her helmet out. She snapped it on securely before unlocking the bike from the rack.

When Emma arrived at her home, she took the stairs two at a time up to her room. She powered up her laptop and opened her iTunes. The Pink Ranger hit the shuffle button and smiled at the song that came up. Emma started to hum as she crossed the room to her closet. She took out the shopping bag that contained the photo album as well as her extensive collection of art supplies.

The Pink Ranger settled in at her desk with her materials. The photo album she'd picked out was red, of course, and made of faux leather. There was plenty of room for all the pictures she wanted to include.

She took out the envelope that held all of her pictures and then went to get her dad's printer. She slid her memory card inside and scrolled through the different photos until she came to the one of her and Troy. Emma clicked the print button and immediately the printer began to spit out a copy.

The brunette girl turned her attention to the pile of other photographs. She cracked open the album and then sifted through the different prints. Emma tried out a few different variations to put on the front page. None of them looked right. The Phoenix frowned. The printer beeped merrily to indicate that it had finished with the photo. Emma thought about it for a moment before placing that picture on the front page.

It looked perfect. And it probably made the most sense to put it as the first picture he would see.

Emma smiled before she carefully secured it on the page.

0o0o0o0

The Phoenix Ranger was pretty sure that she was having just as good a day as Troy was. At lunch, the others had all assured the Red Ranger how much they were looking forward to the party. Emma was especially grateful for their reassurances. For the first time, it seemed like Troy was really into the idea of having a gathering. The smile he wore as their teammates spoke about their anticipation said it all.

After school, Emma and Troy headed over to the Brain Freeze just as she'd promised they would the day before. She treated her Red counterpart to his favorite smoothie and they worked on some biology homework for awhile before Emma announced she had to head home to get ready.

Emma looked through the scrapbook again. She turned the pages carefully to make sure that everything was in its proper place before setting it aside once more.

The brunette girl turned to her closet. She knew it wasn't a formal dinner or anything, but Emma still wanted to look nice.

She pulled down a soft pink cardigan from its hanger and held it in front of herself. Emma spun around to the full length mirror so she could examine her reflection. She liked the way the sweater looked and she hardly ever got a chance to wear it. The cardigan would look nice with her new white sundress.

With her outfit decided, Emma dressed in it quickly. She then ran a brush through her wavy dark locks. The Pink Ranger decided to leave her hair down, but she did adorn her hair with a pink headband.

The teenager put the scrapbook into the bright red gift bag she'd chosen and added some tissue paper to the top of the package. Emma put her phone and her morpher into the small pink purse she rarely used and then slipped her feet into a pair of black ballet flats. Emma took one last look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit that she liked what she saw.

Emma made her way downstairs. She called a good-bye to her dad and promised that she wouldn't be too late coming home. Her dad, Emma noticed, looked a little teary eyed as he walked her to the door. "You look like your mother," he told her. Emma smiled at the compliment.

The Pink Phoenix made her way to Troy's house quickly. Troy had told them his mom said for them to come around 7:00, but Emma was hoping for a few minutes alone with Troy before the others arrived.

She stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened to reveal Renée. Troy's mother smile at the Sky Ranger as she stepped back so Emma could come inside. "You look _very_ pretty tonight, Emma," Mrs. Burrows said kindly. "Troy's up in his room. You can go up and see him."

The brunette girl smiled and nodded. She made her way up to Troy's bedroom and knocked softly on the door. "Come in," he called. Emma pushed the door open.

Troy was sitting at his desk with his back to her. He swiveled in his chair to look at her. A smile spread across his face when he saw her. "I've never seen you so dressed up before," the Dragon Ranger commented. "You look great."

Emma smiled and ducked her head. She was sure she was blushing. Even though her dad and Renée had basically just told her the same thing, it was different coming from her Red counterpart. "Thank you," the Pink Ranger murmured shyly. She handed him the gift bag containing his present. "You can have this now, if you want," Emma told him.

Troy chuckled quietly. "I _am_ pretty curious after you were so secretive," he admitted as he reached for his present. He pulled out the tissue paper and then took out the photo album.

The Red Ranger opened it up. He looked down at the picture of the two of them. "This is from yesterday?" Emma bobbed her head in affirmation. "I really like this picture." The Phoenix felt herself blush again.

As he continued to examine his gift thoroughly, Emma nervously twisted a strand of her silky brown hair around her finger. Even though he said he liked it, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious. She couldn't wait til Troy got to the end and told her what he thought.

There was one glossy picture of the five Rangers in their uniforms. It was the last picture in the scrapbook. Troy beamed when he saw that one and then he carefully placed the book on his desk. "I don't know what to say," he told her.

Emma felt her heart sink a little. "I just thought, you know, you should know just how many people are glad that you came here." She twisted the hair around her finger even tighter.

He got to his feet and crossed the room to her. "I didn't mean it in a bad way," he said. "Emma, I love it. This is probably the best birthday present I've ever gotten."

"Oh," she said softly, feeling stupid. She wished she had worn her hair loose so that she could hide behind it.

The Red Ranger let out a quiet laugh. "Did you really think I didn't like something _you_ gave me?" Troy asked. Emma felt herself blush again. She was sure she was starting to resemble Troy's Ranger suit by now.

He stepped in even closer to her. "I'd like it even if it wasn't a great gift just because it's from you. But you clearly put a lot of thought and effort into making it. So thank you, Emma, for making my birthday special."

Troy's hands slid onto her hips. He angled his head down towards hers. Emma felt her heart hammer in her chest. His lips were just inches from hers. She closed her eyes in anticipation…

They were interrupted, however, by the sound of his mother's voice calling them. "Troy! Emma! Your friends are here!" Renée announced.

The two Sky Rangers broke apart, the moment completely ruined. Emma groaned softly and looked up at the older boy. Troy shrugged his shoulders, but the Pink Ranger could see the disappointment in his green eyes quite clearly.

"Are you guys coming?" a new voice asked. That was Gia for sure. Emma let out a sigh.

"I guess we'd better go down now," the Phoenix said. Her Red Ranger bobbed his head, though he didn't look much happier than she did.

Troy slipped his hand into hers as they exited his room. They made their way downstairs. Their fellow Rangers were waiting by the staircase. Gia's expression said that the Yellow Ranger was clearly going to demand details from Emma later on.

Jake wolf whistled. "What'd you get, birthday boy?" the Black Ranger asked suggestively. He winked. "Something good, I hope."

Noah rolled his eyes and made a scoffing noise. Gia elbowed Jake in the ribs. "I was kidding!" Jake cried, touching the spot where Gia's elbow had landed. The Yellow Ranger shrugged in a way that said she didn't care.

"Can we go act like civilized people now?" Noah asked dryly.

Troy gave Emma's hand an extra squeeze. "Sounds good to me," the Dragon replied. "Let's go eat."

And with that, the five Rangers made their way into the kitchen, ready to celebrate.


	8. Late Night Drives

_A/N: It is one of my personal head canons that Emma would like The Beatles a lot. Their music just seems like the kind of stuff she would like. I do not own _"Here Comes the Sun."

**Baby Steps**

Troy stifled a yawn as he looked over his pre-calculus notes one last time. It was getting late, but he had a big test the next day. His study time had been severely reduced because of another attack by the Toxic Mutants. So unless he wanted to fail his test, he had to study now.

He'd come a long way, according to Gia. The blonde girl's praise did not come easily and the Red Dragon _had_ seen his test scores improve under his Yellow teammate's tutelage. But Troy had a terrible habit of second guessing himself when it came to this kind of thing, so he wanted to be positive that he knew what he was doing.

The Red Ranger looked over at the clock on his nightstand. It was just past midnight and heading to bed was sounding more and more appealing. Unfortunately, he still had another chapter of notes to reread, so sleep would just have to wait.

Troy was startled when he heard what sounded like a knock on his window. That was strange. The Red Ranger was pretty sure he was imagining things due to his sleep deprivation. He turned his focus back to his notes.

As he glanced down, the knocking sound occurred again. Troy swiveled in his chair to look at his window. He was surprised to see that Emma was crouched outside on the roof. Puzzled by this development, he crossed the room and pulled the window open.

He was met by a blast of cold air. Emma scrambled into his room and as she straightened up, Troy noticed that she had dressed accordingly in a pink hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Troy quickly disregarded that, however, when he saw that there were tear tracks on Emma's face. Feeling concerned for the Phoenix, the Red Ranger stepped closer to her. Before he could ask Emma what had happened to upset her, she threw herself into his arms.

She needed him right now, that much was clear. Troy wrapped the Pink Phoenix in a tight hug and tucked her head under his chin. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered. He rubbed circles on the pink clad girl's back in hopes that it would calm her down.

It didn't seem to work. Troy felt his Pink Ranger's body start to shake with sobs. He wondered what had happened but he didn't dare ask. The only important thing at the moment was that he showed her that he was there for her.

Eventually, Emma's sobs subsided. She pulled away from his embrace so that she could lock gazes with him. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I should have called or something first. I shouldn't have bothered you so late. I should probably go."

Troy frowned at the brunette girl's words. "You aren't a bother," he told her sincerely. "I was awake anyway. And you can _always_ talk to me, Emma. I hope you know that." He tried to give her a slight smile. "Do you _want_ to talk about it?"

Emma shook her head. "It's stupid," she mumbled. "I don't know why I let it get to me."

He arched an eyebrow but didn't reply. Troy continued to watch Emma for a few moments. It was obvious to him that the Pink Ranger was still upset. He didn't think she should be alone right now.

Fortunately, the Dragon had an idea. "I think I need a break anyway," he told Emma. "Do you want to go for a drive?"

The keys to his mother's car were hanging on a hook near the front door as they always were. He didn't think she'd mind if he took the car. When he was younger and couldn't sleep or was upset about something, he and his mom and always driven around until he was asleep or felt better. Troy hoped that the same might be true with Emma. Maybe once she had calmed down a little more, she would tell him what had upset her so much.

Emma wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded. Troy grabbed his jacket from the closet and the two Sky Rangers carefully crept downstairs. The Red Dragon plucked his mom's keys from the hook and eased the front door open.

Thankfully, the door cooperated with him and did not emit its usual loud creak. Troy slid the car key into the lock on the passenger side door and held it open for his brunette teammate. As Emma settled into her seat, Troy went around to the driver's side.

He started up the car and the 60s station his mom favored started to play. Troy automatically reached for the dial, but Emma reached for his hand to stop him. "I like this song," the Phoenix murmured. "My mom used to sing it to me when I was little." The Pink Ranger started to sing along very softly. "Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter…little darling, it feels like years since it's been here…"

From what little he knew about Emma's mother, it made sense that she liked the Beatles and in turn had passed that along to her daughter. It was hardly a secret that Troy liked his teammate's singing and if doing so distracted her from whatever was bothering her then he certainly wasn't going to question it.

Troy didn't really have a specific destination in mind. He turned down random streets and glanced over at Emma every few minutes. The brunette girl had stopped singing along to the radio and was now staring out the window at the quiet streets of Harwood.

He wanted desperately to comfort her, but it was a little hard to do that when he didn't know what was troubling her. Still though, Troy knew that the Phoenix had never once let him down and he was determined to be just as dependable for her.

The Dragon Ranger placed his right hand on the console between the seats with his palm facing up. After a few minutes, Emma took it and laced her fingers though his. She offered him a small smile.

Without really meaning to, the Red Ranger had taken them to the outskirts of Harwood. He was ready to turn around so that he could take Emma home when she suddenly spoke up. "Can you turn left on West Avenue?" the brunette girl asked hopefully. "There's a place that makes really good milkshakes and they're open all night."

Troy couldn't exactly see the harm in that. He knew that sometimes it was easier for people to talk about things that were bothering them if they had something else to focus on. The teenager hoped that it would work with the girl beside him.

He turned down West Avenue just as Emma had asked him to. Sure enough, there was an old fashioned diner complete with a glowing neon sign that bore the name "Wally's." Emma let out a sigh, but it was clearly one of nostalgia. "Wally's makes the best milkshakes in Harwood," the Pink Ranger declared. "Maybe the best in the state."

The Dragon Ranger arched an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked, a little skeptical. "Even better than Ernie's?"

Emma bobbed her head. "Definitely. Don't tell him I said that, though." She gave him another smile.

Troy grinned back at her. "Your secret is safe with me," he declared as he pulled the car up to the speaker box. "What do you want?" he asked as he started to dig his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans.

"A strawberry milkshake," she replied as she handed him a few crumpled dollar bills from her own pocket.

He ordered two strawberry milkshakes and pulled the car under the overhang to wait for their order to be ready.

Beside him, the Phoenix was still silent. Troy racked his brain to find the right words to coax her with. Emma seemed to have a natural gift of getting him to talk about the way he felt, but it seemed that he did not have that same ability.

Before he could start to question his Phoenix counterpart, however, the pair was interrupted by the waitress knocking on the window. Troy rolled down the window and took the drinks, handing one to Emma. He handed over the money to the waitress, who smiled and wished them a good night.

Troy sipped his milkshake and found that Emma had not been exaggerating. The Dragon turned to tell her that but paused when he saw the nostalgic expression that had settled over Emma's features once more.

She caught him looking at her. "My mom used to take me here all the time," Emma explained. "It was kind of our thing, you know? I miss doing stuff with her."

The Red Ranger had a good idea now as to what was bothering his teammate. Two references to her mother in one night plus tearstains on her face made it pretty obvious. "I bet that's hard," he murmured. He, too, had an absent parent, but in truth he didn't remember a whole lot about his father.

Emma bobbed her head in response. "It is," she said quietly. The Pink Ranger looked away again.

Troy decided the best thing he could do to be there for Emma was to keep quiet. The last thing the Sky Ranger wanted was to say the wrong thing to her. So the pair of teens sat in silence as they finished their milkshakes.

Eventually, Emma's kind brown eyes focused on him again. "It's late," she said. "I should let you go home and get some sleep."

He would have liked for his Pink counterpart to actually talk to him about why she was so upset, but Troy didn't want to press her. Just as she'd asked, he started up the car again and headed back towards their neighborhood.

When they got back to Emma's house, she didn't leave right away. She sat in the car with him for quite while in complete silence. His Pink Ranger no longer looked sad or nostalgic. Instead, she smiled at him ever so slightly and said, "Thank you for not pressuring me to talk. I appreciate that, I really do."

"I understand, Emma. It must suck for you to not have your mom around. But I hope you know that if you do ever want to talk about her, I'm willing to listen." The Dragon returned Emma's smile.

Emma looked at him with her brow furrowed in confusion. "My mom?" she repeated. She thought for a moment. "Oh…I see why you thought that." Emma heaved an audible sigh. "That's actually not why I came over."

Troy arched an eyebrow. "It's not?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope. The reason I showed up in the middle of the night like a crazy person is because I had a dream," the Phoenix explained.

That certainly was not the explanation that Troy had been expecting. "I know all about dreams," he replied, taking her hand again. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" the teenager asked her quietly. "Maybe I could help."

Emma took a deep breath."It was more of a nightmare, really. We were fighting Creepox."

He wanted to point out that fighting Creepox was highly unlikely to ever happen again but he didn't. if Emma was finally ready to talk about that had happened, Troy didn't want to discourage his Pink counterpart in any way.

The Pink Ranger continued to talk. "And in my dream Gia, Jake, and Noah were already down. I…I was going to be next. But you were there. You took a hit for me. It was a really bad one. You…well, you died, Troy. And I was all on my own…"

Troy could hear tears in Emma's voice. It was no wonder that she was crying again; the nightmare she had just described was enough to drive anyone to tears. "Em," the Dragon Ranger said quietly, "I –"

She interrupted him immediately. "I know it's stupid. I know that Creepox was destroyed ages ago. But the dream just seemed _so_ real. I had to see you and make sure you weren't really hurt." Emma sniffled a bit, turning her face away as she did so.

He frowned. "I think that I probably would have wanted to do the same thing if it were me," Troy replied. The Red Ranger released Emma's hand and cupped her cheek in his hand. He gently turned her face towards him. Emma put her own hand over his to keep it pressed against her cheek.

The Pink Ranger looked at him for a long moment before saying, "You would do it though, wouldn't you." Her tone made it clear that it was a statement, not a question.

He didn't even have to think about it. If Emma were ever really in that kind of danger… There was no way the Dragon would ever be able to live with himself if he could have protected her and didn't. "Yeah, I would," Troy replied.

Emma just looked at him for a long moment. And then, before Troy could really process what had happened, the brunette closed the distance between them and kissed him.

Troy was stunned for a moment before he kissed Emma back. Their first kiss was gentle and sweet. Troy felt Emma smile against his lips.

The Pink Ranger pulled away first but she didn't move too far away from him. She rested her forehead against his. troy noticed that Emma looked quite pleased with herself.

"I've been wanting to do that for awhile now," the Pink Phoenix told him.

To tell the truth, Troy had wanted the same thing. He thought back to his birthday, remembering how they had been interrupted. "So have I," the Red Dragon replied. He grinned. "But I think it was worth the wait."

"Definitely," Emma said firmly. She returned his smile.

They both fell silent for a moment. Troy wondered if his fellow Sky Ranger was thinking about their kiss. He knew he certainly was going to be thinking about it for awhile.

"I guess I should go inside," his Pink counterpart said eventually. "Goodnight, Troy."

"Sweet dreams," he murmured. Emma kissed him again, swiftly this time, and then got out of the car. The Red Ranger watched Emma make her way up to the door and let herself in. She turned to wave at him briefly and then she disappeared entirely.

Troy continued to sit in the car outside of Emma's house, musing over all that had happened tonight, all the baby steps that had led up to this.

And he couldn't wait to see what would come next.


End file.
